


Blast From The Past

by pennedbycat



Series: In Another Life [1]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Everyone is 21 except for Claire; she's 19 so mentions of underaged drinking because of her, F/M, Online Dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23759260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennedbycat/pseuds/pennedbycat
Summary: A tale of one Jill Valentine and her roommate, Claire Redfield, in which the pair have a bit too much to drink and make the former an online dating profile. Much to Jill's surprise when she wakes up with a massive hangover, she has a like waiting for her. And it's certainly not what she expected, as she sees the name of someone from her past. Modern Day AU.
Relationships: Carlos Oliveira/Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy/Claire Redfield, Past Chris/Jill
Series: In Another Life [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747183
Comments: 17
Kudos: 65





	1. It's A Match

**Author's Note:**

> A few things to note: 
> 
> \- I changed the year to modern time because, well -- online dating didn't exist back in '98.  
> \- I changed the events around for our characters, and one had an overhaul for the most part.  
> \- I used bits from the S.D. Perry novels for Jill's background
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

Jill was a fairly well-behaved young woman. Even during her time at the Raccoon City Police Academy, she didn't get herself into trouble. She stayed on top of her studies and did what she had to do. All work and no play, her best friend and roommate, Claire, would tease her. Still, Jill never seemed to mind. She went out and had fun every once in a while (usually due to said roommate) so that was good enough for her. But after she graduated from the academy, Claire insisted that they had a celebration. It was funny; in their friend group, all but Claire were a part of the 2020 graduating class. Chris started it all by bringing Leon around the apartment he shared with his sister at the time. The pair had a project they were working on. The elder Redfield wasn't pleased to find out that his classmate was talking up his baby sister in between sessions, but he learned to shut his mouth after a while-- seeing how happy Claire was with Leon. Not that later on, Chris rekindled his friendship he had with Jill after a mutual break up a few months back, and she would frequent his apartment, alongside the rest of the boys, Leon, Forrest, Brad and Joseph. The girls knew each other fairly well, given the history between Chris and Jill, but it wasn't until the elder girl started coming around again that the two really started to bond. They got an apartment together, and the rest was history.

After the graduation, Chris, Jill, Leon and Claire all went back to the girls' apartment. Though the celebration didn't truly start until the boys fell asleep. The four of them had dinner and quite the collection of alcohol at their disposal. While Leon and Chris were downing the beer like it was water, Claire and Jill were working on a couple of wine bottles. It was getting fairly late by the time the four of them had gotten successfully hammered. Claire went to 'put Leon to bed' which -- no one was stupid enough not to understand the underlying message of that, but Chris was on the verge of passing out on the couch, so the younger Redfield decided it was best to play it safe until he was asleep. (The girls would high five on that later). 

Jill had grabbed the last bit of their second wine bottle and went to her room to wait for Claire. It was a nightly tradition, pretty much. The two of them would pick something to watch on Netflix -- usually a show to binge watch every night before bed. But tonight had been a little different, as the younger brunette had a plan up her sleeve. 

Claire finally slinked into her best friend's room, the latter nearly falling asleep on her bed waiting for her. She woke with a start, hearing her door close.

"Well, guess you had a good time," Jill teased, a soft strain in her voice as she sat up, resting back against the headboard.

Her roommate snickered, flopping down on the bed next to her. Laying on her stomach, Claire hugged the pillow on her side. "Like you haven't done the same with my brother. Which -- first of all -- ew. Second of all--"

A blush crept up on the graduate's face. "Claire-- we've been over this. Your brother and I _used_ to be together. We called it off months ago. Things just didn't work out."

Jill and Chris were in a long-term relationship for quite some time. It all started when the two met several years ago, fresh out of high school. The two had went straight to college to get their backgrounds in criminal justice, and met that first day. Both of them had moved out of state to start at Raccoon University, so they had bonded over being 'fresh meat', as freshmen are often called. Their friendship took a turn not long after that, as the two began to fall in love. Unfortunately, the two just couldn't function well as a couple. They tried to make it last, spending their two years in college on again-off again. After graduating, the two called it off for good. That whole summer, they spent apart. And it wasn't until starting school again at the academy that they even uttered one word to each other. Finally, after having to work together in their classes, they started to ease back into the friendship they had before. Both of them would agree that there would always be love there between them, they just couldn't be together romantically. Claire supported both of them during this, but had hoped that they would work it out in the end. Sadly, that wasn't the case. 

The younger hummed in reply, elbows now pressed into the mattress as she propped her chin up in the palms of her hand. "Sure, but that doesn't mean you can't go out on the dating field again. Maybe you should make an online dating profile!"

"I don't know about that. I've got to think about my future. School already took a lot of my free time--"

"Ah, ah-- correction. You let it take up your free time. I swear, you and my brother are the same damn way. You were both practically married to your school work that you couldn't even bother to work on your relationship," Claire knew that she was probably putting salt on an open wound at this point, but as they say, drunk words are true words. She saw the expression on her best friend's face, and immediately regretted being so brutal, putting a hand over hers. "Look, sweetie, all I'm sayin' is that-- maybe you should focus on making yourself happy instead of focusing on making yourself _successful_." 

Jill hated it when she was right. Claire might have been young but she was fairly wise for her age. Plus, she was just the compassionate type. She was studying to become a social worker, after all. "Alright, alright. If I do it, will you lay off?" 

"Maybe," Claire began, humor dancing in her blue eyes. "You know I only pester you because I love you." She winked, swinging around to sit upright.

"I feel the love," Jill chuckled. Her eyes wavered back at her friend for a moment, contemplating on whether she was going to follow instructions or not. Finally, she let out a soft sigh before reaching for her phone on the nightstand by her bed. 

The two spent the next hour that they would usually be watching Netflix, setting up a profile for Jill. They finished the rest of that bottle of wine, and wound up passing out on each other. 

o-o-o

Jill woke up that morning, surprised to find Claire's arm draped around her like she was her favorite stuffed animal. It was cute-- until the pounding in her head started. She jabbed her roommate in the stomach with her elbow, only partially waking her up. The younger groggily scooched over, hugging the body pillow that was in between them. Groaning, the soon-to-be rookie cop let her feet hit the floor as she shuffled to the kitchen. The headache. The uneasiness in her stomach. She had a nasty hangover threatening to make her day miserable. The brunette barely had her eyes open, leading herself to the small kitchen table where their basket of medicine was sitting. Unscrewing the cap, she sprinkled two capsules onto her open palm and then headed towards the cabinet for a cup. First thing in the morning, Jill had to have her coffee. But this time, she chose her peach-mango juice to swallow the pills with. 

After she grabbed her juice from the fridge and poured herself a half glass of it, she tipped her head back and took the pills. The brunette set the glass down on the table and cradled her head in her hands for a moment. 

"F u c k," she groaned. This would be the last time she let Claire talk her into drinking two bottles of wine with her. Jill put the bottle of Tylenol away, and was heading back to her room, when a voice stopped her. 

"You alright?" It was Chris. He must have heard her shuffling in the kitchen, as it looked over the living room, only an archway separating it. He had sat up on the couch, watching as she went by. 

"Head's poundin', but I'm alive," she spared him a smile, eyes opening a little more, "sorry if I woke you up."

"It's alright," he spoke, running his hands across his face. "I'm not as bad off as you. You're the one popping Tylenol at seven in the morning," his expression softened as Jill came closer, sitting down on the couch next to him. 

"Is it that late? Geez. I must have slept in," she chuckled, resting her head against the back of the couch. Lightly, she swirled around the juice that was left in her cup, taking a sip. The brunette really wasn't exaggerating. Sleep wasn't her best friend, it had never been. She'd be lucky to get four solid hours of sleep each night. 

"You're getting lazy," he teased her, tapping her on the knee for good measure. She looked over at him and just rolled her eyes. The two sat next to each other in silence for a few minutes, Jill nursing the rest of her juice when suddenly it dawned on her what she and Claire had done last night. 

"Dammit," the brunette exclaimed, jumping off the couch with more vigor than she put into sitting down. She had to see the damage that had been done. And maybe delete it, if it wasn't too late. 

Chris' brows knitted together in confusion. "Something wrong?"

Wouldn't it be awkward to tell your ex that his sister helped her set up a dating profile? "I forgot to send in my father's birthday present. All this graduation excitement--" please buy it, she thought to herself. Her father's birthday wasn't for another few months. Though, he never thought too kindly of Dick Valentine, something that really put them at odds when they were a couple. Mr. Valentine had pushed her to going on the force, to make something of herself, instead of following in his footsteps. She loved her father dearly for that. He gave her a second chance-- though she wasn't too thrilled about it at first. 

Chris was opening his mouth to reply when Jill rushed out of the room and down the hall. 

She came back in her room to see Claire still sound asleep. She was face down, softly snoring. The perfect vision. If Jill wanted to be truly evil, she could record it and show it to Leon later. But, she decided against it and went back to trying to figure out the problem at hand. The brunette grabbed her phone and immediately opened the app. Much to her horror, she already had a like waiting for her. And it made her want to drop her phone right then and there. 

Back when she was a teenager, she was still helping her thieving father. She used to be the distraction when she was a kid. But the older she got, the more responsibilities fell on her. She learned to pick locks, and by the time she was old enough, she was driving the getaway vehicle. Jill met a lot of interesting people alongside her father, but none were as interesting as one Carlos Oliveira. He had been taking odd jobs from strangers for years now, just to get by. It had all been honest work prior to that; he had to drop out of school to take care of his grandmother, as his mother couldn't do it alone. Carlos hadn't been proud to work for a thief, but he did what he had to do. Plus, he had met the prettiest girl he had ever laid eyes on in the process. They had even dated for a few years, before the Valentines had to pack everything up and move to avoid being caught. Sadly, that was all in vain. That was when Jill moved to Raccoon City, and her father was sent to prison. The authorities never caught wind of her involvement, though she was unaware of the strings her father pulled. Neither Jill nor Carlos were held responsible for their actions, but neither of them remained in contact. Life got in the way, they both said.

The brunette almost forgot how to breathe for a moment. She wasn't even aware that Claire had been trying to get her attention for the last minute. 

"Jill!" She tried again.

"Huh? Oh, God. Sorry," she breathed, peering over at Claire. The younger looking a tad worried.

"Are you okay?" She asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

"I think so. I-- got a like on my profile this morning," Jill began, showing her phone to Claire.

"Ohhhhh. He's cute! But-- wait. Wasn't that?"

"Yup," the elder brunette responded, going to sit on the bed next to her roommate.

"Shit."

Claire and Jill were literal best friends. There wasn't a thing that the other didn't know. They spent many a night when Jill couldn't sleep and would just sit up and talk about life. Jill learned about Claire's abusive boyfriend in high school-- that was the main reason why Chris trained her so well with how to defend herself. (All it took was for the younger Redfield to come home with a red mark on her cheek-- one that suspiciously looked like a handprint-- and that was that. She told Chris everything, and he trained her in combat). And, in turn, Claire learned about Carlos. 

There was a pause where the girls were considering what to say next. 

"You should swipe right. I mean-- what could go wrong? It's been what-- three years?" The younger Redfield finally spoke aloud, gaining Jill's icy stare. "Clearly you still dig him. You wouldn't be so bothered by it if you didn't." She gave her best friend a pointed look, seeing her hesitation. "If you don't do it, I'm doing it for you."

With a slightly trembling hand -- whether that was from the hangover, the fact that she hadn't had coffee, or her nerves, she wasn't sure -- Jill swiped right. 

_It's A Match!_

"I'm getting some fucking coffee now," she spoke, rolling out of bed once more. 

"Wait for me, I'm coming too!" Claire called after her. 


	2. The Waiting Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I ended up making this last chapter longer than anticipated, so I'm making this story into three chapters. I don't tend to write multi-chaptered fics for this very reason, so just bear with me! Hope you all enjoy, nonetheless!

The past few days have just flown by for Jill. She had been fairly busy, but it had been well worth it. The R.P.D. accepted her amongst their ranks. She had visited her dad. Hell, she even did some volunteer work at the local animal shelter. What had she _not_ done, though? Oh-- there might be a message on her phone from a certain someone, asking her out for coffee. In her busy schedule, did she forget the message was there in the first place? No. Did she just ignore it for in fear of letting someone get close to her again? Bingo. Jill was having an all-out war in her head. A giant part of her _wanted_ to get that coffee with Carlos. After all, it was _just_ coffee, not a marriage proposal. But when she thought about her last heartbreak, she wanted to stay far away from him as possible. Claire had hammered into her head over and over again that there was nothing wrong with letting the man take her out for some coffee. All Jill needed to take was baby steps, but she just wasn't sure she had it in her. To let herself be that vulnerable again. 

Currently, the elder brunette was curled up on the couch, watching a paranormal documentary, her favorite blanket draped around her shoulders. She was so focused on the TV that she didn't even hear her roommate coming down the hall. Claire plopped down on the couch next to her best friend, reaching for the remote to pause her show. 

Jill's brows furrowed, turning her attention to the younger. "Can I help you?" 

The student just snorted in reply. "Yeah, you can. Have you set up that coffee date yet?" The look she got in return prompted her to frown. "Jill. It's been two days! That's basically saying that you've ghosted him."

"Now you just sound ridiculous. So what I haven't agreed to the date or not yet? He knows I just got a job at the P.D.. Maybe I'm swamped with work!" She was just trying to come up with excuses now. And her roomie was having none of it. 

"C'mon. You guys got along so great, you said it yourself," Claire pointed out, prompting the officer to scoff lightly. 

"Yeah. We did. And that's the problem. I don't want to hurt him, and I don't want him to hurt me. Okay? Is that a good enough reason?" She was starting to sound annoyed, already reaching to take the remote back. 

"You can't let your fears get in the way of something you want. Not when things were going so well." The younger kept watchful eyes on her best friend. Not necessarily wanting to hound her, but wanting to squash her more stubborn thoughts. "You used to talk so highly of him. And that was only a few months ago. Do you really want to throw it all away? 'Cause, honey-- he won't stick around if he doesn't get a response back." Claire was just trying to talk some sense into her. Because the last thing she needed was for it to be a too little, too late situation. 

Jill hesitated, looking down at the phone that was in her lap. She had thought about messaging back. But she was just _scared_. Carlos had been a really important part of her life. What if he blamed her for not staying in contact? Where would they be now if they hadn't lost communication? Could she have been settled down? 

_Buzz_ _buzz_

A rather uncomfortable silence filled the living room. Claire cleared her throat before she spoke, "wasn't me," she even pulled her phone out of her back pocket to check. 

The officer sighed softly, turning over the phone on her lap. The first notification was from her app, Crimson Dating. She could feel her heart thundering loudly against her chest, throat becoming dry. Carlos had sent her another message. This may or may not be a nail to the coffin for them ever going on that coffee date. 

"Well?" Claire's voice came in, startling Jill out of her thoughts again. 

"It's a message from Carlos," she replied breathily, tapping on her phone to see what he said. Though Jill had no idea what to expect when she opened that message, she still went in hoping for the best.

o-o-o

"Hey, you want some cheese with that whine? Incoming!"

Carlos caught the basketball in his hands, frowning as he began to dribble farther away from Tyrell, who had just thrown the ball his way to get his attention. "I'm not _whining,_ T. But, shit, what more do I gotta do? It's been two days!" He stretched his limbs, throwing the ball into the hoop from across the way. 

"Dating women is a damn cat and mouse game. Sometimes, they put up more of a chase than we bargain for," Tyrell just shrugged his comment off, running up to grab the ball as soon as it went through the net. 

These two had known each other for years now, both living on a military base about an hour away from Raccoon City. When it came to blowing off steam, the boys would come to the Recreation Center and hit the basketball court, if they weren't immediately heading for the gym. Tyrell had been listening to Carlos talk about Jill since he found her stupid profile in the first place.

"Yeah well, she needs to run a little slower. I can't keep up," Carlos shook his now sweaty, shaggy head of hair and watched as his colleague took his shot at the net from the side. "Was I too forward in asking her out? Man, it was just coffee." Cut him some slack, okay? He remembered how much of a coffee junkie she was, three years later.

Just for once, Tyrell wished he wasn't Carlos' best friend. They had plenty of other friends he could go to. Murphy would listen-- he was a good guy. Hell, even Mikhail had a soft spot for Oliveira, and would listen to him bitch and moan. But, no. It had to be _him._ "No matter what I say, your crazy ass is still going to do whatever it is that you wanna do. So, I'm not even going to waste my breath. Go for it, hotshot. Message her again. We both know you want to."

There was a long pause where Carlos just held his mouth open to protest, but the words would never come. He was right. Did he risk a restraining order-- or at the very least, freaking the girl out? Yeah. But, he couldn't just sit around and wait for her to reply. Because that was just how much she meant to him. Carlos had already lost Jill once. He wouldn't let it happen again. "Good idea, T," he finally spoke, tossing his friend the ball again.

"You are one ballsy motherfucker, you realize that, right?" Tyrell tucked the ball under his arm fixing his unbiological brother an amused grin.

"My abuela doesn't call me big headed for nothin'. Says I inherited my stubbornness from my abuelo," Carlos chuckled, clapping a hand on the other man's shoulder as he went by. "I'm grabbing some chow. Are you comin'?"

Tyrell responded fairly quickly by throwing the back towards the court and catching up with his colleague. "Lead the way, Romeo."

"If I get you a wig, will you be my Juliet?" Carlos called over his shoulder.

The pair settled down with their lunches a little while later, both of them with their eyes glued to their phones. Usually every few minutes, one would be showing the other a stupid meme that they would laugh about. They were halfway through their meals when Tyrell finally decided to address the elephant in the room. "So, did you do it yet?"

"Yeah," Carlos peered up at his friend for a moment, before looking back down at his phone. "I'm just waiting on a message back." He flipped back to the app and reread his message for what felt like the hundredth time. 

_[ The thought of coffee giving you cold feet already, supercop? ]_

That wasn't screaming desperate, right? Playing it nice and chill. Hell, maybe she'd like the new nickname he gave her. 

Tyrell sat back in his chair, arms propped up behind his head. "Remember your wingman fondly when you two crazy kids get married," he joked. 

As he smirked at his best friend's joke, Carlos felt his phone vibrate in his hands. He could have sworn that his heart sped up a bit. She already had a hold on him, didn't she? 

_[ My feet are nice and toasty, thank you. How does 4pm sound for our coffee date? ]_

Man, she was already giving him whiplash. Maybe she had just been busy. A part of Carlos wanted to know, but the other part was telling him that he should just stop while he was ahead. Jill Valentine was a one-of-a-kind woman. There was just something about her. Maybe it was the way she carried herself, the way she spoke, but Carlos learned years ago that he was _whipped_. And... he kinda liked it that way. 

_[ That sounds perfect. I'll see you then ;) ]_

He set his phone down and looked over at Tyrell, who had been sitting there waiting on some details. 

"Well? What'd the lady say?"

"I-- uh, I got a date," Carlos grinned, checking the time. "In about two hours... I'll be smooth sailing," he sat back in his chair now, feeling more at ease, more himself. 

o-o-o

Jill had been watching the clock for well over an hour now, _waiting_ for the right time to head out the door. Moon's Donuts was a ten minute drive from her apartment. And the last thing she wanted to do was look desperate by waiting on Carlos way ahead of time. Her nerves were eating away at her. She had told herself to make the date for _tomorrow_ instead of today, so she could better prepare herself. But she also really wanted to get it done, if things hadn't worked in her favor. The brunette was starting to run into the problem where the longer she sat there, the worse she criticized what she was wearing. It was just a coffee date, so she tried to dress casual, but not _too_ casual-- because that would come off as she just didn't care. Jill had already changed tops twice now. She stood in front of the mirror, taking in her reflection with minor scrutiny. The brunette wore a pair of black jeans, topped with a blue tube top and a white sweater. Did she look cute, or was it apparent that she was trying too damn hard? A groan escaped her lip. This was getting her nowhere. She might as well just leave now. Otherwise, she'd keep changing outfits. Not only would that make her room a mess, but it would also risk her running late. And that just wasn't what she wanted.

The brunette headed out of her room, purse thrown over her shoulder when she heard her roommate call from the living room. 

"Heading out already?" Claire asked, picking her head up from where she had her head laying on her boyfriend's chest. Leon had his arms around her as they watched something on TV. Jill noted that they looked pretty comfy. God, she'd kill to be that relaxed. But she was absolutely freaking out over this date. 

"Yeah," she schooled her face into a neutral expression, heading down the hallway to reach the lazy couple. "It's 3:45. Figured I might as well head out." Before she changed her mind, but she wasn't going to admit that aloud. It was strange. Usually, she wasn't this nervous. Jill went after what she wanted, no questions asked. But there was something so unsettling about messing this up. It _had_ to go perfect. 

The younger brunette settled back against Leon's chest, giving Jill the side-eye, "be back home by 11," she teased, prompting the other girl to scoff in reply. 

"Sure thing, mom," she chuckled, making her way to their apartment door. 

The last thing she heard while closing the door was Leon tell her "go get him, tiger," grinning back towards the door. 

Moon's Donuts was a major hotspot in town. It was always bustling with business, especially first thing in the morning. Jill didn't pick an evening time, just because she felt like it. The odds of it being crowded were slim to none. When she finally got to the diner, she settled in one of the booths closest to the door. It must have been the cop training. She had to be at the closest table facing the door, no matter where she went. The brunette fiddled in her pocket, pulling out her phone. Carlos had sent her a new message, saying that he was on his way, again, ending the message with a winking emoji. She fought hard against the blush that was creeping up on her cheeks. It had been _three_ years, and she was still this nervous. 

Jill sat there, fingers tapping on the back of her phone as she thought of how to reply. A small smile graced her features as she began to type, figuring she didn't need to say anything fancy. 

[ _Alright. I'm here now, sitting in the booth by the door. You won't have to look too far to find me. ]_

Another ten minutes went by. She propped up her chin in her hand, watching the door a bit too closely. _C'mon. The anticipation is killing_ _me,_ she thought to herself. 

No sooner than those words crossed her mind, here he came. Carlos was as attractive as Jill remembered, if not more. The rugged features that he sported seemed to suit him. She picked her head up as he approached the table, grinning widely. 

"Hey," he told her, "long time, no see."

"Yeah, right back atcha. It's good to see you, though," she replied, her tone as soft as the smile on her face.

Carlos held out an arm for Jill, "c'mon, chica, let's go get some of that coffee. We've got a lot to catch up on," he sent a wink her way as the brunette took hold of his arm, letting him lead the way to the line at the register. 


	3. We're Looking Up At The Same Night Sky

They stood in line, with every intention to decide what they wanted to order, but Jill couldn't freaking focus. She was so busy trying to process the fact that Carlos was actually here with her. When they parted ways after she graduated high school, she thought that she'd never see him again. That he would be off to do bigger and better things. Blue eyes were trained on the menu hanging off the wall, but she was only half paying attention to it. She was far too busy stealing glances back at her date when he wasn't paying attention. Whether that was him fiddling with his pockets, or hanging back on his heels, he seemed to be as nervous as she was. And it was pretty adorable. 

"Hate to break it to you, novio, but I'm not on the menu," the soldier teased, sending her a wink. He motioned towards the wall with the menu, a smirk playing at his lips, "you know what you want?" 

Jill felt her face become increasingly hot as a blush crept up on her face. So much for being discreet. She could hear Carlos chuckling at her reaction. He was enjoying himself a bit too much already. The brunette sent him a glare, cutting his laughter off prematurely. "I think I'm just going to get a vanilla latte," she sighed, trying her best to regain her bearings once again. 

Carlos shifted his weight from one leg to the other, giving her a glance over before replying again, "still plain jane when it comes to your coffee orders, I see," he nudged her arm, "you go on ahead," he urged her on, grinning now. 

Hey, she couldn't help that she wasn't crazy over trying all the new coffee drinks. Leave that to her roommate, she was always trying the new stuff. Jill liked playing it safe. If she knew she liked something, why change it up unless she was _really_ feeling daring that day? Which-- sometimes she did, upon the barista's recommendation. "Just so you know--- if you get some fruity drink, I'm making fun of you," it was her turn to smirk, purposely brushing past him as she went up to the register. 

Her date laughed, watching her appreciatively as she passed. The pair ordered their drinks-- Carlos also ordering two muffins, one blueberry and one chocolate, just for them to munch on something as they caught up on each other's life stories. Once they reached their table, they sat across from one another. 

"Pick a muffin, any muffin," he told her, amusement in his eyes as he slid both muffins over to the girl across from him. 

"Okay," she gave him a look, smirking, "but don't be a baby if I pick your favorite," Jill snagged the chocolate one, and Carlos just watched it all unfold with a big ol' grin on his face. 

The brunette was pretty surprised how organic it felt already, getting back to how she and her date used to interact when they were teenagers. She assumed that things would be pretty awkward, seeing as though they hadn't spoken in years. 

o-o-o

The longer the pair sat and talked, the easier it became to slip back into old habits. He was holding her hand in his own, thumb stroking the back of it. Carlos would be lying if he said he wasn't curious as to why it took her two days to respond to his message in the first place, but he felt as though it didn't really matter, not when he had her right in front of him. Jill was alive, and seemed to be pretty content with him, so-- for now, that was all that mattered. 

"So, Army, huh? I'm sure your family is proud," Jill spoke, reaching with her free hand to take a sip of her drink. She remembered Carlos' family particularly well. The brunette adored them, and they had seemed pretty fond of them, just the same. Every Sunday, his abuela insisted that they all come together for dinner. Jill cherished those days; she reveled in the normalcy, something that she never really got in her own household. Her father _tried_ to give her a normal life, but it was hard when you were a crime boss. 

"Yeah, they are," he affixed the brunette with a grin, working the stubble on his face with his own free hand. "Abuela still asks about you and every now and then. She's gonna be excited when I tell her I met up with you again."

Her heart sped up a beat at that. It definitely seemed like he had no intentions of letting her slip past him again. Not when he mentions his grandmother, who he was a major sucker for. He adored that woman and would do anything for her. "Sounds like there will be a second date?" She asked, the jitters from earlier creeping back in.

Carlos looked back at her for a moment, wondering if maybe she just wasn't getting the hint. His giant hand squeezed her petite one, "Jill, you'd have to put up one hell of a chase to get away from me now," he chuckled, raising her hand now to press his lips against it for a moment. 

"Well, that sounds borderline stalkerish, but-- it's acceptable coming from you," she told him, doing her best to fight the blush that was coming back to rest on her cheeks. Carlos was a romantic at heart, Jill remembered that well. He used all the cheesy pickup lines on her. He held doors open, slid out chairs, his abuela didn't put up with any disrespect for women, and it showed. She checked her watch, seeing they had already been sitting here for two hours. It didn't even feel remotely feel that long, she just happened to notice the sun disappearing from view as the door looked back out into the shopping district. 

Catching her gaze, her date peered over the back of the booth, looking out the door as well. He figured it was a cop thing, but he still followed suit just the same. "Wow, is it really already almost seven? Geez. Say--" he paused, releasing his grip on her hand, sitting back in the booth, "you wanna come back to my place? I can make us some dinner," he offered. 

"Let's save that for our second date," she told him, which surely was a disappointment. But he respected her wishes. Maybe she had other things to get done tonight. 

"You can count on it, supercop," he tried using the nickname he gave her over messaging, just to add a bit of flavor. If the look in her eyes were anything to go by, Carlos was sure that he had nailed it fairly well. 

It wasn't that she didn't _want_ to spend the evening with Carlos. She damn sure did. But she had to show some restraint, if she wanted to keep him interested. Claire taught her that there was a fine line between spending time with someone and wearing out your welcome. Besides, there had to be _some_ element of surprise, didn't there? "Wanna walk me to my car?" She offered, a soft smile on her face. 

"Absolutely," he told her, lips breaking out into a grin. 

Being deep within the city, vehicles had to parallel park along the sidewalks, so it was a bit of a walk from the diner itself. The two walked side-by-side, talking about everything that came to mind. Both of them had smiled so much, their jaws would start to ache before they knew it. It was good to be back again. 

Carlos looked over to the sunset, remembering all the times they spent together as teens. Every night, they'd sneak out and watch the sunset. And some of those nights, they wouldn't go home until the sun rose that morning. Jill was going on a tangent about how much she despised the Chief of Police already, but she kept her mouth shut because she wanted to keep her job. Her date stopped her mid-sentence, a hand going on her waist to pull them to a stop. 

"This looks familiar, doesn't it? Watchin' the sun set?"

Jill nodded, looking between Carlos and the sky. "My dad used to get so pissed when I came back home late," she laughed rather breathily, remembering their all-nighters fondly. Their eyes finally locked, and she reached up to cup his face in her hands, "hard to believe that was three years ago."

Carlos grinned, taking her hand from his face, entwining their fingers together. "Yeah. But I get a feeling that we'll share plenty more of those together."

"You sound pretty confident in yourself, Oliveira," she teased, tilting her head at him. 

"Maybe. But that's not saying I'm wrong, is it?" He began closing the gap between them, and Jill met him halfway, her free hand supporting his stubbled face as their lips met. The kiss only lasted for a few short moments, seeing how they were still in public, but the fire behind it took them both by surprise. 

After the pair regained their composure, they walked hand-in-hand again, finally reaching Jill's car. Carlos let go of her hand, standing right by the door as she climbed inside. Only a moment later, she had her car started, and her window pulled down, smirking up at her old lover. "Goodnight, Carlos."

"Buenas noches bella," he ducked his head inside her window to give her a quick peck on the lips. "Message me later. I want to know you made it home safe."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved her hand dismissively, but was still smiling just the same. He turned around and was starting to walk away before she called out to him again "hey, Carlos?" He glanced over his shoulder, training his eyes on her. "We'll raincheck that dinner. Maybe next week?"

"It's a date," he winked, turning back around to head to his truck.

Jill watched him as he began to get further and further away. She pressed her back against her seat, letting out a breath that she hardly knew she was holding. The brunette took her sweater off, tossing it in the passenger seat as she fastened her seatbelt. Claire was going to be proud of her. Hell, she was proud of herself. She got out of her comfort zone and look what she gained out of it? A piece of her past that she never imagined for a second that she'd get back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who followed me on this short little journey! If you guys have any fic suggestions, feel free to reach out to me on tumblr @ pennedbycat. Take care!

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a three-shot. See y'all next chapter!


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